More than 2,500 companies are getting ready this week to preview their new gadgets for 2010 at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where 3D televisions, eBook Readers, and smatphones are expected to be the popular themes, but as is their custom Apple will showcase their new products separately at their own event in San Francisco where the escalating hype and rumour mill is obsessively predicting the unveiling of a new kind of device, the Apple Tablet computer.

The Gadget Rumour Mill

Rumours and speculation are part of every industry, but in recent years the gadget world’s rumour mill has descended into the depths of gossip and tabloid journalism where blogs and columnists are prone to repeating bad information, not because they think it might be true, but merely for the drama it creates.

Compounding this bad behaviour have been leaks, where some companies will send snippets of information, sometimes true, sometimes not, but often designed to be taken out of context, to bloggers to release online where it can become viral, knowing that when information is repeated over and over its human nature to take it as true. These companies do understand the danger of such practices and so only use this tactic sparingly, but where there’s a void there are many willing to make up their own “leaks” to fill it.

Apple doesn’t send out leaks, in fact they are one of the most secretive companies in the industry, with a reputation amongst reporters as one of the hardest to cover because of their tight-fisted nature towards discussing even the most basic information on their products and business. This means they have the biggest void surrounding them, and so the biggest rumour mill has developed to fill their silence.

The Apple Tablet Rumour

The Apple Tablet rumour is one that has been floating around now for years. Apple has never spoken of such a device, not one sentence, but it hasn’t stopped the creation of a new product story that has taken on mythic proportions.

According to the rumours the Apple Tablet is a large touchscreen computer not unlike a clipboard-sized iPod Touch. Designed to be used in-between a laptop and a smartphone, it is thought to be Apple’s alternative to netbook computers. The rumour mill was adamant that it would launch at Macworld in 2008, again at their WWDC that summer, again later that fall, Macworld 2009, the next WWDC, their event this past Fall, and well, here we are again this month.

The tablet could be a larger version of the iPod Touch/iPhone 

The chatter is slightly different this time. Last year Apple didn’t release any new product concepts, instead choosing to merely upgrade their existing line with new features and performance tweaks while allowing their App store and iPhone business to carry them into record earnings. Many feel that in order to maintain this momentum the company will need to launch something new for 2010. The economy is in recovery, Steve Jobs is back from his health leave, and well, this is Apple, they are always working on something new. The timing is right.

The idea of an Apple Tablet is compelling simply because of the success of netbook computers. The industry has learned that you can shrink a computer down to the size of a cellphone, but that people still need a minimum work space, a desktop area, something to spread information out across to make sense of it all. Netbooks are currently fulfilling that role, but they are in essence miniature laptops and still have the uncomfortable form factor of a typewriter. You really do need to sit at a desk to use it best. The better solution would be a device that has the same form factor as a clipboard, something light that you can easily carry in one hand while typing or writing on it with the other. Apple’s touchscreen system along with the thin, slate-like shape of their iPod Touch is an ideal match for that kind of use.

The concept has so much appeal that other companies have let it know that, whether the Apple rumours are true or not, they will launch their own Tablet computers this year. Notion Ink, a company based in India says they will launch a Tablet-styled device that will run Google’s Android operating system in their home country next year. Google’s other operating system, Chrome OS is also at the heart of other Tablet rumours, with one linking the search giant to HTC for a Tablet computer.

Conceptual render of Notion Ink's Tablet, provided to Slashgear.com 

None of these devices will receive the same kind of interest as Apple’s. Here’s a quick snapshot of the image the rumour mill has created surrounding an Apple Tablet:

It will be unveiled this January 26th at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts in San Francisco, a venue Apple often uses for its announcements and one that Apple has booked for use that day.

Although announced this month, it is guessed that the device won’t actually be available for sale until the spring, around March.

Its official name won’t be the Apple Tablet. Digging around through patents and copyright entries that may be connected to Apple, some rumour mills have uncovered the names “iGuide” and “iSlate” and are putting these forth as possible names.

Educated guesses from a number of sources put the screen as being between 7” and 10”.

Rumours of a possible deal between Apple and TV studios concerning a iTunes service that would deliver subscription-based content is being linked as one of the possible uses and appeal of the Tablet.

A large screen makes multimedia an obvious feature 

All of these details can be tossed aside as the rumour mill has a poor history of getting such details wrong. While everyone anticipated the coming of an “iPhone”, no one knew what it looked like or what it was capable of until Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs pulled it out of his jeans on stage during their January preview event in 2007.

What Is A Tablet?

The mystery that no one has an answer for is how an Apple Tablet will be used, what the specific consumer need it will fill that isn’t being met with existing Netbooks and smartphones.

Just as there were touchscreen PDAs and Pocket PCs on the market long before the iPhone, there have been Tablet computers in the market for years, with Microsoft championing the concept and partnering with many manufacturers including Toshiba and Lenovo to try to popularize the idea.

The HP Compaq Tablet PC 

These were laptops that had the ability to transform into tablets through a twisting of their displays which could fold down over the keyboard flat. Users could then use a stylus or their fingertips on the touchscreen display to take notes, using either a virtual keyboard or handwriting.

The idea of these early tablet computers is that office workers would use them like laptops at their desks and then convert them into note-taking tablet for board meetings and co-operative projects.

Despite a niche following, including Microsoft’s own employees, using the devices with great effectiveness, these devices proved too heavy, bulky, and ultimately required too much of a learning curve to become popular.

While can certainly create a light, slim touchscreen device to counter these issues, the question remains as to how it will be used. Will it simply be for note-taking as the old tablet computers were designed? Is it something that can replace a laptop or is it expected that consumers will buy it as a third device, after the laptop and smartphone? Will this be a revolutionary device like the iPhone and App Store or will it be a side-product like the Mac Book Air or Apple TV?

The Evolution Of A Computer?

IF the Apple Tablet is real than it’s a project that the company has spent many years developing which lends itself to the idea that they must see it as a major product category, and one that clearly has a strong, everyday practical use. They might even see it as one that could grow into the next evolutionary step for the personal computer, that just as we have transitioned from desktop to laptop computers over a period of years, we might do the same from laptops to tablets.

Whatever Apple’s intent might be for this hypothetical device, just as they have with all of their products and operating systems, they will have identified three to four key features, key uses that will distinguish the tablet from any other device. What these might be, well, that’s the game for us all to play until the 26th.

The rumour mill is focusing on multimedia as a key use, but then that’s a given for anything with a 10” screen these days, as well as connected, streaming, or cloud-based services, but again these are popular trends across all computing these days.

As they have for all their product demonstrations, I expect Apple will showcase the Tablet in a variety of real-world uses with partners from different sectors. Two areas I’m keen to see are health and education.

CRT Scan displayed on an iPhone, a feature that would have better impact on a Tablet

Apple has already used medical applications to show off the iPhone which has the capability to display CRT scans and connect to diabetes readers, both uses that could certainly benefit from a similar device with a larger screen. Hospitals have a real clipboard culture and a Tablet would be ideal for patient charts and forms.

Schools, similarly, have a strong chalkboard or, going back several generations, a slate culture and a Tablet would make for a better classroom device over a laptop. Schools have already begun to embrace the idea of digital textbooks and certainly are keen on new ways of bringing the interactivity of today’s technology into the more collaborative atmosphere of today’s classroom.

The answers, of course, aren’t in the back of the book this time, but won’t be revealed until January 26th, if that, as everything is still just a rumour.